A Change of Pace
by nadeshikofan
Summary: A Prestigious Talent School Genderbend AU made up of snippets of the character's lives. Each chapter will be focusing on one character in particular. [Chapter 1: October 14th] If you had asked Maka the first time he became roommates with Soul, he would've found it to be embarrassing to be the one at the back, holding onto the driver.
1. Updates - Info Introductions

**Everything on this page is an Author's Note, as a personal reminder to me, the authoress, as well as to allow all the readers to bring themselves into this AU's world while I develop it a bit more. (If you do use this AU in a story, please send a PM to let me know, I'd love to read your ideas and/or fanfic!)**

 **Normal (Partial) Genderbend AU** because I love Genderbent High School SoMa so much like you can't even believe it *laffs*  
Originally this story was written to be a fanfic involving bands and stuff but I'm not gonna bother with that since it's pretty OOC for me.

I probably should go work on that "You Don't Get It" Fic but… my love for GB SoMa is too strong now… although I honestly was tempted to write some SoMa yuri haha… maybe some other time if I feel up to it. Who knows, I'll probably end up writing it and adding it to this fic just as a fun little extra.

I'll only be genderbending the Spartoi members that have an official genderbent design (asides for Kid and Maka's parents) since it'll be easier on me…

As a side note, **Maka's mom isn't named Kami** , according to someone who studied and knows Japanese, _it's a mistranslation._ **Kamisan** means _wife,_ **Motokamisan** means _ex-wife. Calling her **Kami-san** would be like naming her God, _ so Maka's mother is nameless _._

* * *

 **Introduction**

"Welcome to [D]reams [W]ill [M]ove [A]cademy! DWMA is a prestigious school for talented students from various places all over the world, we intend to do our best to have our students broaden their horizons with the help of having a partnership, where our students will be partnered up with whomever they desire to partner with and to become more accustomed to being outside of their comfort zones by learning of their partner's type of talent. There are two types of programs within DWMA. One is known as [E]xtracurricular [A]dvanced [T]alents, whereas the other is known to be [N]ew [O]pportunity [T]alents. We, at DWMA, firmly believe that by encouraging an athletic-nonathletic partnership, it will help our students with their creativity as well as their cultivating their talents!"

 **Synopsis**

[A Change of Pace] is a Prestigious School Genderbend AU made up of snippets of the character's lives. Each chapter will be focusing on one character in particular.

 **Updates**

TBA as changes will be made with every updates.

* * *

 **Any similarities to characters, settings, scripts, actual schools, or stories from other pieces of literature or media are coincidental.**

Character information on this page is subjected to change and characters will be added as each character's been introduced.

 **SoMa** [Soul x Maka], **OxKim** [Kim x Ox] , and **AkaGumi** [Akane x Tsugumi] will be happening for sure.

The following ships are **strongly hinted** unless stated otherwise:  
TsuBlack [Male!Tsubaki x Female!Black Star]  
KidLiz [Female!Death the Kid x Male!Elizabeth/Liz]  
JacKim [Kim x Jacqueline]

* * *

 ** _Names_** ** _–_** ** _Gender – Age_** ** _– [EAT] or [NOT]_** ** _–_** ** _Talent/Occupation_**

* * *

 _ **Maka Albarn** – Male – 16 – **E** xtracurricular **A** dvanced **T** alents – Gymnastics_  
• The son of Vice Principal Albarn whose parents divorced about 3 years ago. He's our main protagonist.  
• He strives to be a fantastic gymnast like his father.  
• Soul's partner.  
• Maka is adamant on being ignorant to his feelings for Soul and firmly believes that love doesn't exist nor is he willing to try in the present moment.  
• He's teaching Soul how to cook.  
• He has a sibling traveling with their father.

 _ **Soul "Eater" Evans** – Female – 17 – **E** xtracurricular **A** dvanced **T** alents – Musician_  
• Even though Soul entered DWMA for her piano music, she's been learning how to play instruments and seems to not particularly want to play the piano at all despite that being how she was accepted by the school, although this is extremely encouraged by the school as they see it as her "broadening her horizons," as they so often preach.  
• She's getting cooking lessons from Maka because she's a terrible chef okay-  
• Maka's partner.  
• She isn't aware of it yet, but she finds the idea of Black Star and Maka being childhood friends to be hella weird.  
• Soul's parents love Maka due to him being the son of the school's Vice Principal, a former musician, and how he has many connections with the school and Death City.

 _ **Maka's Unnamed Father** – Male – 34 – Former **E** xtracurricular **A** dvanced **T** alents Student – Retired Gymnast_  
• Maka's father of Japanese descent.  
• He has an older sister who's the parent of Shirayuki, Maka's cousin.  
• He was formerly a gymnast however after the divorce he's now supposedly traveling the world.  
• Spirit's ex-husband.  
• No one knows where he currently is.  
• It's been said that Maka's sister is traveling with their father.

 _ **Spirit Albarn** – Female – 34 – Former **E** xtracurricular **A** dvanced **T** alents Student – Musician_  
• Maka's mother and the school Vice Principal; she really, _really_ dotes on Maka.  
• He was formerly a gymnast however after the divorce he's now supposedly traveling the world.  
• Maka's father's ex-wife.  
• Spirit is often seen hanging around a lot of men.  
• Despite Maka's distrust towards women, Spirit still cares deeply for her son and her ex-husband.

 _ **Shirayuki Llewellyn** – Female – 23 – Former **E** xtracurricular **A** dvanced **T** alents Student – Retired Violinist_  
• Maka's cousin from his dad's side of the family who now lives alone.  
• She owns a flower shop.  
• Her late sister was her partner.  
• Shirayuki is a single young woman with no interest in searching for romance.

* * *

 _ **Black Star** – Female – 17 – **E** xtracurricular **A** dvanced **T** alents – Kickboxing_  
• Black Star was adopted by Sid Barett, the History professor at DWMA, long before she became a DWMA student.  
• She grew up with Maka, the Vice Principal's son, and they're considered to be childhood friends.  
• Tsubasa's partner.  
• There's a possibility that Black Star's fallen for Tsubasa, however due to her one-track mind, the matter's currently debatable.  
• She's really good at sports and has lots of muscles compared to other girls; she's really fit.

 _ **Tsubasa Nakatsukasa** – Male – 18 – **E** xtracurricular **A** dvanced **T** alents – Kendo_  
• From a young age Tsubasa was very sheltered until his older sibling went missing and couldn't bear to be at home.  
• Black Star's partner.  
• Truth be told Tsubasa has a lot of difficulty being around Black Star despite being partners, whether this is because Black Star's a naive girl or not is unknown.  
• He occasionally spars with Akane and Clay.

 _ **Sid Barett** – Male – 27 – Formerly **E** xtracurricular **A** dvanced **T** alents – Kickboxing_  
• Adopted Black Star as his daughter and was the person who found her and brought her to DWMA when she was a few years old.  
• Naigus's partner.  
• It's hinted that he's together with Mira Naigus.  
• He's a History teacher at DWMA.

 _ **Mira Naigus** – Female – 27 – Formerly **E** xtracurricular **A** dvanced **T** alents – Knife Thrower_  
• She's learned how to treat injuries for Sid when they were still students which led to her wanting to pursue a medical-related education which allowed her to become a part of the medical staff at DWMA.  
• Sid's partner.  
• It's hinted that he's together with Mira Naigus.  
• She's a Gym teacher and Nurse at DWMA.

* * *

 _ **Death the Kid (Kid)** – Female – 17 – **E** xtracurricular **A** dvanced **T** alents – Shooting_  
• Kid is the semi-sheltered daughter of Principal Death; despite being acquainted with Vice Principal Albarn from a young age she's never really met Maka until she transferred to DWMA.  
• Matt and Alex's partner.  
• At one point in time she had a one-sided crush on Maka, but that was only due to how symmetrical his appearance is. She hates being treated like a child.  
• Kid is often feared due to being the Mayor's daughter as well as a regular participant in shooting competitions.

 _ **Alexander Thompson (Alex)** – Male – 18 – **E** xtracurricular **A** dvanced **T** alents – Shooting_  
• Alex is the older brother of Matt and the both of them grew up in Brooklyn, where they were scouted by Kid for their marksmanship.  
• Kid and Matt's partner.  
• He treats Kid like a sibling, but is it possible that there's actually more to it than that…?  
• Looking at his phone, he's often on social media, especially on a site called Deathbook.

 _ **Matthew Thompson (Matt)** – Male – 16 – **E** xtracurricular **A** dvanced **T** alents – Shooting_  
• Genderbend of Patty and the younger brother of Alex.  
• Kid and Alex's partner.  
• Did you honestly expect there to be romance for this guy…? There isn't, it's nonexistent with the exception of an unconditional family/friendship love.  
• Matt, Kiley, and Black Star often hang out at the arcade or at the basketball court.

 _ **Principal Death** – Male – ? – Formerly **E** xtracurricular **A** dvanced **T** alents – Archery / Shooting_  
• Kid's father who, despite having more of an interest in blades, has quite a collection of simple bow and arrows to crossbows to guns and to rifles. At a younger age he deemed that it would only be proper if he taught his daughter how to use a gun for her own protection, in case something were to happen to her since kidnapping or a burglary, as well as to not cause any sort of accident.  
• He's a very carefree person though he _can_ be a serious parent. He treats all the students as part of his family, though he tends to spoil Kid at times…

* * *

 _ **Tsugumi Harudori** – Female – 17 – **N** ew **O** pportunity **T** alents – Art_  
• Despite being older than Maka, Tsugumi greatly admires him and strives to become as wonderfully independent as him and has a tendency to call him 'senpai' due to being an E.A.T. student and for being at the school longer. Maka's the first person whom Tsugumi had met upon her arrival at DWMA and was the one to kindly show her around the school's campus.  
• Meme and Anya's partner.  
• While she holds an admiration towards Maka, she's fully aware of the fact that she's been steadily developing a deep crush on Akane. Believing that he likes one of her partners, she's afraid of ruining her friendship with him and her partners should she get rejected by him.  
• Tsugumi has a relatively low self-esteem, believing that even if she's good at art, she has no other amazing qualities compared to her partners.

 _ **Anastasia Yngling (Anya Hepburn)** – Female – 17 – **N** ew **O** pportunity **T** alents – Karate_  
• Anya is a princess of the wealthy Yngling corporation and was raised in a sheltered household, far more sheltered than Kid had been.  
• Meme and Tsugumi's partner.  
• She admires Tsugumi's "commoner" lifestyle and tends to get jealous of how close Meme and Tsugumi are.

 _ **Meme Tatane** – Female – 17 – **N** ew **O** pportunity **T**_ _alents – Martial Arts_  
• She has difficulty remembering quite a lot of things and is considered to be an airhead.  
• Tsugumi and Anya's partner.  
• All Meme wants to be able to spend time together with Anya and Tsugumi.

* * *

 _ **Akane Hoshi** – Male – 18 – **E** xtracurricular **A** dvanced **T** alents – Kendo_  
• Both Akane and Clay were sent to the NOT classes in order to keep an eye on Tsugumi's partner, Anya, and ensure her safety, however in the girl's first year at DWMA they proved themselves to be capable and thus, he and Clay returned to the regular EAT classes.  
• Akane is a TA for Naigus the majority of the time if he's not doing some sort of special project for the academy.  
• Clay is his partner.  
• He enjoys teasing Tsugumi half of the time, though the majority of the time he _can_ be serious which often makes it difficult to see how he's truly feeling.

 _ **Clay Sizemore** – Male – 18 – **E** xtracurricular **A** dvanced **T** alents – Art  
_• He was in the NOT class with Akane to keep an eye on Anya, but since they proved themselves to be very capable he and Akane are now back in the EAT class.  
• Akane's partner.  
• Despite being Akane's partner he's very dense and at the present moment he has no interest in romance.  
• Has a tendency to over-exaggerate.


	2. Chapter 1 - October 14th

**[Wednesday – October 14th]** with **[Maka Albarn]**

* * *

 **[October 14th] Wednesday – 6:18AM**

The skies were somewhat cloudy, showing that it winter was indeed approaching, the boy thought as he opened up the window. Autumn's breeze was brought a chill in the morning, though when winter comes it probably wouldn't be any colder than a regular room temperature here in Death City, Nevada. The boy with ash blond hair stared outside his window at nothing in particular. He should be smiling, he thought. It looks as if today will be a beautiful day.

He didn't smile, or more like he couldn't bring himself to.

It should be fine, right? About three years ago, his parents had a divorce which he couldn't help but admire his father, how he was so cool with the way he told his mother that he wanted a divorce. The boy's father was his aspiration, and he hoped that one day maybe he'll gain more acknowledgement for his skills even if he was chasing after the shadow of a man who wasn't even close to him anymore. He still gets the occasional postcard from his traveling father. His cousin from his father's side of the family, Shirayuki, was his next door neighbor and guardian, in place of his father who was always traveling around the world. She often stopped by just to check up on him and would make sure that he was eating something.

He lives with a girl by the name of Soul Eater, who he was partnered up with as part of EAT, the Extracurricular Advanced Talent program at Death Academy. His talent was in Gymnastics, and Soul's a Musician that was currently learning how to play the guitar. At first, he didn't like the thought of sharing his living space with a girl outside of his immediate family, however after becoming the girl's partner for upcoming school projects and things as such (needless to say, it was a miracle that the girl managed to pass her classes without studying before the two of them met), as well as seeing her nearly burn down the kitchen when he offered to give her cooking lessons, he decided that maybe it really was a good idea that he moved in. He was probably saving the apartment building from a fire.

Everything's better now, he wasn't alone anymore… but why did he feel so miserable?

He pulled himself away from the sight that he sees everyday every time he wakes up and opens the window for fresh air, ignoring the shivering breeze that brushed his warm cheeks and giving his arm goosebumps. Looking over to the clock on his bedside table that read '6:31', he can see that he only had about a half hour to get ready. His cousin should be waking up sometime soon, knowing her, she'd probably try to make sure that him and Soul eat something… he felt as though he should really do something as a way of thanking her.

Reluctantly he left the comforts of his room and headed off to the bathroom to prepare himself for yet another day of school.

He couldn't bear to look at the photo that stood beside the silent moving clock.

* * *

 **[October 14th] Wednesday – 6:56AM**

By the time he finished making a simple breakfast, he heard the door opening in the silent apartment. Soul was still asleep, and he knew his cousin had a key to their apartment in case of any emergencies just like them having a key to Shirayuki's place. Even if Death City was filled with friendly people, it was a fairly dangerous place at times.

"Oh…" he hears her murmuring as she enters the apartment and heading towards him in the kitchen. "Good morning, Maka," the black-haired girl smiles politely as she places her reusable grocery bag on the dining room's table. She was worried, concerned about her cousin, and assumes that maybe she really didn't need to worry about him after all.

How wrong she was, if she knew the truth.

"Morning, Shira," Maka said, taking his apron off. "Care to join us? I'm just about to go and wake Soul up."

Shirayuki blinks before placing a hand on her cheek, pondering over his offer, "I couldn't possibly intrude…" she says in a worried tone of voice.

"Please, it's the least I can do," Maka laughs lightly before heading over to Soul's room. He gave it a few loud knocks that rang throughout the apartment. "Soul? Wake up, breakfast is ready!" Opening the door, he could see the white long-haired girl sleeping, turning in her sleep and pulling the blanket over her head as a poor attempt to block out his voice.

As he pulled the blanket he couldn't help but feel mesmerized for that moment, his heart faltering as he stared at his beautiful roommate. He ignored that feeling before he shook her shoulder, causing the girl to begin to stir. Eventually she finally woke up, allowing Maka to tell her that breakfast is ready and leave the room to allow her to dress up for the day.

Breakfast today was calm and quiet, but no longer awkwardly quiet, he noticed.

* * *

 **[October 14th] Wednesday – 7:38AM**

If you had asked Maka the first time he became roommates with Soul, he would've found it to be embarrassing to be the one at the back, holding onto the driver. It's a part of society's expectations for a girl to be wrapping her arms around the guy's upper torso, clinging to them for what feels like for dear life with the colors of their surrounding just passing on by with every second. Mesmerised, the girl would begin to enjoy the ride over time, right? With Maka, he was the one in the back, trying to hold onto Soul with his arms wrapped around her just below her… bosoms. At the beginning it was incredibly difficult to consider where to wrap his arms, but that awkwardness immediately dissipated the more their rides were added to their routine.

Soul was attractive, Maka refused to acknowledge this due to his own stubbornness. After all, he can't go off falling for his roommate, there were so many things that went on in his life like his classes and gymnastics competition. It worried him—what if that relationship became a repeat of his parent's failed marriage? He couldn't risk it, he didn't want to imagine him and Soul being together in a romantic way, nor did want to acknowledge that her hands were smaller then his, or how adorable she looked when she was frustrated with her cooking skills in the kitchen. There was one time when the gang decided to come over to their shared apartment, where they played a simple game of truth or dare and Maka had to give someone a hug. He chose Soul, and what made it worse for his heart was that she awkwardly had to hug back. With her delicate arms wrapped around him, he could see why a lot of guys can get head over heels at a girl's touch. Maybe he should've picked Black Star, he didn't really see her as a girl… sometimes.

Kinda like his classmate, Ox Ford, with a ridiculous crush on Kim Diehl. Except everybody knows about it, in fact, everyone's betting on who'll end up with Kim, Ox or her roommate Jacqueline… not that Maka was necessarily making any sort of bet on the matter, but despite rooting for Ox, he couldn't help but feel like the guy was fighting a losing battle.

The minutes seem to fly by and they finally arrive at the always prestigious academy. Maka and Soul were indeed partnered up by the Academy's program known as 'Dreams Will Move,' it's a bit like a motivational thing, where they, the dreamers, will continue to move on and strive for their goals. The EAT, otherwise known as the Extracurricular Advanced Talents classes required you to have a partner for the program, though it _was_ possible to not have a partner. Those in the NOT, short for the New Opportunity Talents, suggests that you have one partner. The partner system encourages a non athletic-athletic partnership, but it really isn't mandatory. It was what gradually led to Soul, a musician, and Maka, a gymnast, to become partners. Apparently the entire purpose of such a partnership was to try and engage yourself into your partner's talent, to try to make you do something outside of your supposed 'comfort zone'.

Maka got off the bike and Soul placed on her 'cool, calm, and collected' façade that she so often wore when approaching the school grounds. He never liked that fake part of her even if it did make him think that it was pretty cute of her to try and be something she wasn't, but it made him think of his red-haired mother, Spirit Albarn.

Before the divorce, his mother desperately tried to look cool, and had appeared to be calm and composed, for a while.

All that did was cause strangers to flirt with her… and she would flirt back.

* * *

 **[October 14th] Wednesday – 8:13AM**

Maka and Soul arrived at the gym, the girls wore their gym clothes just as the guys did. Due to being partners and for knowing each other for quite a long time, they ended up standing beside one another, as if it was the only thing that was common sense to them. Eventually their other friends drifted towards them, Black Star with her spiky blue hair, with her hand intertwined with Tsubasa's as she dragged him towards them in a childlike glee no doubt showed how excited she was for Halloween.

Soon, the Halloween Festival was about to begin, and Maka couldn't help but remember when he was smaller, with his older sister holding his hand and running around door to door saying 'Trick Or Treat' to various strangers as they wore tacky little costumes. Embarrassing as it was, Maka was the one to wear the pink, puffy, princess dress. His sister was the evil dragon.

Every year, there was a Halloween Festival in Death City where everyone celebrated this joyous occasion. DWMA took part in this special event, having tournaments and their own stalls to manage as well as an outdoor photo gallery where everyone could waltz through to see the photographs and artworks would be displayed. The tournaments were arranged in various categories, and one involving a sword fight, other being a cook-off, a swimming competition, and things as such.

Maka snapped out of his thoughts the moment he noticed Coach Naigus enter the gym, with her timer dangling around her neck, a pen in hand, and a clipboard in the other. In that small moment, everyone began to head outside, knowing that she was going to time them right after they finish warming up. He wasn't the type to do heavy lifting like Black Star would crazily do, but he was a fairly decent runner whose steps were light, bouncing with life. Maka couldn't help but feel inferior all the time.

But today he didn't feel very hopeful, even if he did break his old time and heard Coach Naigus praise him, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of heartache. Soul didn't ask him, if she noticed, and for that he was thankful.

Maka wasn't the most popular student around, at least, compared to Soul, Tsubasa, and Alex, he wasn't. He didn't think of himself as ugly, nor did he think of himself as the handsomest of them all, just… average. Compared to Tsubasa and Alex, he wasn't tall, nor did he have much muscles to show off. He had a dull mop of ash blond hair, and his emerald green eyes weren't always vibrant, but they were unique, but not as much as Soul with her bright white hair and her beautiful red eyes. She was always elegant, even if she thought she wasn't.

All in all, Maka would pale in comparison when it came to having a fan of some sort if he cared, so imagine his surprise when a familiar student with black hair and violet eyes came approaching him, letting him know how amazing he was at the timed running. She seemed flustered and she was around the same height as him, she said that she admired him, actually, and appeared to be a fan of his. He remembered her because she was the first freshmen (well, a freshman due to the fact that she joined the academy fairly later than most) who spoke to him when he and Soul were asked to demonstrate what a year's worth of training at the Academy could do to help develop teamwork and further cultivate your talent. She had worn a name tag that said 'Tsugumi Harudori,' and she seemed as if she entered the school as an artist. She was a peculiar case, apparently two athletic-type students wanted to be her partner, so it was only natural that she's a bit more… impressionable? That was roughly three years ago yet still they continued to speak to one another.

Regardless, Maka had an amazing intuition and was great at remembering faces, so when he recognized the girl, she seemed really happy… although he glanced out at the corner of his eyes, feeling as though he was being stared at, and perhaps he really was being stared at. He was used to Soul glaring at him when he spoke with a couple of people outside of the Spartoi group, for reasons beyond his comprehension. It was very doubtful that it was because of jealousy, even if that was the only reason he could think of.

Then again, he always was a paranoid kid, even if he had a good intuition.

"Hey, Maka," Soul's voice had snapped him back, causing him to look at the albino. "Stop flirting with your girlfriend and help me do some extra warm ups," the girl grumbled irritably.

"What's eating you? You know I'm not interested in dating," Maka rolled his eyes, yet he complied with his partner's request, giving Tsugumi a small wave of farewell as he and his partner walked away. "See ya around, Tsugumi."

As the duo walked off, he knew that Tsugumi was still looking over at him, but he didn't sense a hint of a glare from the girl. When he and his partner stopped, he then realized that a tall young man was staring at him.

 _'…?'_ Maka raised a brow, seeing the guy with short black hair turning away. _'Isn't that Akane? Was he the one that was staring at me? What for…?'_

After a moment, he saw him and Tsugumi talking together, the latter appearing even more flustered than when she was talking with him, and caught a glimpse of Akane's smile. Despite being in the same year, they've hardly interacted with one another, yet Akane wasn't one who would randomly go off smiling at people. He only smiled when he felt as though he had to but now… it seemed more natural, like it normally was when he was hanging around his friends.

"Ah… so that's how it is…" he murmured to himself, feeling a ghost of a smile gracing his lips before helping Soul do routine stretches.

How interesting.

* * *

 **[October 14th] Wednesday – 11:04AM**

Maka and Soul entered the cafeteria together, "I'd like one dead chicken, please!" Maka said with a grin as Soul ordered a regular burger. As they reached their usual table, Maka noticed Black Star eating a steak with glee. "Maybe I should've ordered a dead steak instead," he murmured thoughtfully. "Ah, well, this deceased chicken's still gonna be delicious."

"You really should've, though, this dead steak's filling up my gut!" Black Star exclaimed with childish glee.

"Knock it off with the death child talk, sheesh…" Soul rolled her eyes. Tsubasa merely gave a sheepish chuckle as he listened, somewhat agreeing with the albino girl. Being someone who didn't grow up in Death City, they couldn't help but feel somewhat unsettled with them casually dropping off the word 'dead' left and right.

"Jeez…" a tall young man with short blond hair grumbled as he stared at his phone's screen. "If I ever get my hands on this nadeshiko-whatever-the-hell-their-name-is, I'm gonna…" he seemed irritable, yet he switched his phone off and joined the group sitting at their usual table. "Hey guys."

"Hey Alex," Soul greeted, raising a brow at the guy's odd behavior. "So… where's Kid and Matt?" she dared to ask the question on everyone's mind.

"Firing range," Alex responded without hesitation, though he scowled.

"Something the matter?" Tsubasa questioned, concerned.

"…don't wanna talk about it," Alex grumbled, not wanting to acknowledge the reason as to why he left Kid and his fantastic brother at the shooting range.

Everyone glanced at their respective partners, concerned about what happened yet eventually the subject was changed.

If they needed help, then they'd be here for whatever problem they had.

* * *

 **[October 14th] Wednesday – 3:17PM**

He was a very hardworking individual, Soul was very much aware of it. However, she was absolutely fed up with his stubbornness at the present moment. She _knows_ that he's not telling him something, he never makes eye contact with her when he does and his voice falters for a brief second before returning to it's regular firm state when he has a lie that he deems to be decent. Thinking about it happening was a cute sight to see, but during the present moments it's hard to think of him as being adorable when she felt as though he didn't even trust her. Then again, thanks to his womanizing red-haired mother, Soul was no doubt the one who Maka trusted the most since they're partners…

Soul let out an exasperated sigh, "Why won't you just tell me? We're partners, I'm here for you and you're here for me," she stated.

It all started about an hour ago when Maka returned from running a small errand for professor Stein, their science and health professor. He came back to the classroom and seemed as if he had been avoiding eye contact with Soul that it actually made her worry over her partner. Maka was the kind of person who blamed himself, Soul knew that even if Maka claimed otherwise.

"…I know, but this is a problem I need to handle on my own, otherwise it'll just become a mess," Maka scowled, his lips a firm line as his brows wrinkled in dissatisfaction before patting Soul on the head as he shook his head. "Trust me," he forced a smile as if to try to reassure himself more than anything.

Maybe it involved his terrible mother, and if that was the case then she really shouldn't try to bother him about it. After all, he's never bothered her about _her_ family.

Soul narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, yet she decided not to intervene due to the lingering possibility.

* * *

 **[October 14th] Wednesday – 6:39PM**

The moment his room's door was shut closed with a small _thump_ , he allowed himself to heave a heavy sigh. Slowly, he slid down to the ground, as if all of his energy had immediately dissipated as the memories flooded into mind. He told Soul that he's got an essay to finish for History, but really he just wanted to have an excuse as to why he'd be shut in his room. Soul wouldn't hesitate to interrupt him while he was reading one of his books, so homework was his best shot at being alone for a while.

He remembered the moments of when he was heading to the infirmary to retrieve the documents for Professor Stein. At first, he was walking down the hall until he was pushed down the stairs—to which he was thankful that he hadn't sustained much of an injury, otherwise he wouldn't be able to enter any of the Halloween Festival's events. When he turned around to look up the stairs, he noticed that it was just another one of Soul's crazy fanboys. She was always getting letters of admiration and requests for a partner change. It was annoying, truth be told, but in the long run the problem just began to pile up with his insecurities.

Maka couldn't deny the fact that he and Soul seemed completely incompatible; he didn't understand music, not at all, and Soul didn't seem impressed with his gymnastics either, just the fact that he was able to do _something_ athletic even though he was a major bookworm.

Black Star wasn't exactly the most helpful when it came to boosting another person's ego, all she knew was how to boast about how fantastic she was and that she'd become one of the powerful person there is out there. Well… Tsubasa encouraged her behavior, but that's not the point because Black Star needs the support… but what about him?

He couldn't tell Soul, the problem involved her fans and he knew full well that she was flattered to have them despite seeming as though she had no intentions to hang out with any of her admirers.

There was no way in hell he would tell his next door cousin. Who knows what Shirayuki would do, for all Maka knew, she might be able to contact his father. He couldn't afford to cause problems for his papa, especially since his parents are divorced and free from the chain of marriage that was once binding them together. Most of all, he wanted to prove that he was responsible.

Obviously he wasn't going to talk with Vice Principal Albarn, his mother. She nearly gave Soul detention just for becoming his partner on day one. He couldn't tell what could possibly happen to anyone if she got involved, even if he didn't mind if those guys got expelled. Maka didn't want to cause that kind of problem.

Black Star was out of the picture. Even if she was trustworthy with a secret, she'd probably offer to help him out, aka, beat up the guys who've been bothering him.

Alex and Matt also seemed as though they'd consider beating up the guys… but he didn't know about Kid. Kid was an unpredictable factor, even though she was completely logical and would come up with a plan or two, she'd get side-tracked the moment symmetry came into the equation.

Well, it was that, or Maka didn't want to rely on a girl's help or a taller, muscular guy's help (the latter being where he categorized Black Star, truth be told). The very thought of it made him feel all the more weak, _powerless_.

Letting out yet another heavy sigh, he looked over to the already opened window, the slightly warm breeze brushing against his sweaty forehead. He closed his eyes, seeing the figure of a young girl with madder red hair, a color similar to Soul's comforting eyes (and his mother's own red hair, but he didn't want to think about her at the moment). The girl's back was facing him, and all he could notice was the emerald green headband and the ash-colored ribbon tied to the side of it. She seemed a bit… huffy, upset at something and he didn't remember what. In that image he thought of what the girl had told him, yet it's been awhile since he's last heard her voice. The words seemed dull when he thought them, yet his imagination made the memory seem alive to him.

" _Stop, Ma-kun._ _Every time you sigh, you're killing_ _your happiness bit by bit!"_ He contemplated over those words, managing to stop himself from releasing yet another sigh as if it were the right thing to do after thinking over those words. Sighing was relaxing to him in a way, it felt as though his shoulders felt lighter and almost as if he'd be able to take the same strides as the slightly taller girl, however her presence had an air of authority to it. It was almost as if her orders were absolute, that he had to listen to her.

It was just a memory, he knows, but he still wishes that she was still hanging around him. He misses the times when he felt so much more carefree with the girl. A time when everything seemed so… simple, something effortlessly easy to deal with. All of his problems seemed so… small, as if everything was going to get better from here on out.

Maybe it did, maybe it didn't… or maybe he was just playing ignorance.

She turns to look at him in that accursed memory of his. He avoids eye contact and she says something along the lines of, _"Who cares about what they think?"_ The red-haired girl grabbed hold of his hands and he looks up at her in surprise. Unlike him, she has freckles painted across her face and her dark eyes showed a firm resolve. _"They're just jealous!"_ Her eyes, a nice midnight blue laced with a serious 'listen to your queen because you're just overthinking it' sort of expression.

All it did was make matters seem worse when their belief was absolutely crushed.

That all they believed in was left for naught.

"…I wonder if that really is what it is…" Maka murmured quietly as he opened his eyes, his emerald green eyes slowly looking down to his gloved hands. He wore a pair of white gloves and at first, people often asked him why, why wear the gloves. Every single time, he'd claim that it was for good luck… but it wasn't. He's never believed in such a thing as good luck, he believed in hard work because it brought _results_ , unlike luck. The gloves reminded him of the time when he refused to touch a girl's hand after finding out how terrible his mother turned out to be. He'd only remove the gloves when necessary, like when he was at home, or when he was doing his gymnastics routine. The thought of touching a girl's hand (of course, asides for friends and family) repulsed him, to be honest. It's been with him for so long…

The gloves which steadily began to stain with dirt that he often wore was like a cracked mask over his smiling, optimistic face, had grown far too old. When will it come crashing down?

He didn't want to know.

Upon hearing Soul's voice he hesitates, staring at the gloves as he slowly removes them… but he's not sure if he was doing the right thing. He doesn't know because it's been so long, but he's vulnerable without this mask. The gloves are tossed onto his plain yet neat bed and he opens the door, face to face with his partner for over three years now.

Looking at her, he knows that she can be trusted…

Even if there was that lingering doubt.

* * *

 **A/N**

 _Truth be told I find Maka's POV to be easy to write for, which is probably because he's got a relatable situation ahah._

 _Anyways, if I suddenly go missing then blame Male!Alex who's probably out to get rid of me due to saying something on Deathbook which totally isn't Death City's version of Facebook nope ahahhh_ _… actually, I didn't do anything. I don't know what you're talking about._ _*whistles*_

 _Speaking of Male!Liz, I'm gonna be writing in Alexander's POV in the next update. I have a bit of time since this week is the dreadful finals and all of my finals are performance-based tbh, so I'll have time to work on this I'd hope._


End file.
